I495 beer stores

Yankee Spirits in Sturbridge and/or Julio's Liquors in Westborough are two good options.

 

Julios is by far the best, assuming you're coming on the pike it's one exit north, but well worth the detour.

 

Yup, Julios is the one.

 

Yankee is less out of the way (I'm guessing) and just so happens to be right next door to maybe the best BBQ place north of the mason-dixon, so there's that.

Also, while Julios does have a superior selection, I'm not sure it's worth the detour unless you're looking to load up the cooler with a bunch of $37 bottles from obscure Norwegian breweries...

 

Julio's is your best bet. If you cannot find things there, I have had success with Muckey's in Lakeville which is about a mile off of 495. Wines and More at the end of 495 is also a big warehouse type of store. It has good selection, but the prices are a bit high.

 

You can hit Julios or Yankee Spirits on the way over. You can even stop at Old Sturbridge Village.

 

One advantage with Yankee Spirits is you can buy online and pickup at Sturbridge store, but I would give them a few days to process the order in case it is coming from one of their other locations. I have done this in the past with de dolle beers. Yankee has a much better wine selection than Julio's if that interests you. I also will swing by Julio's from time to time. In my mind Yankee is slightly cheaper. I like to stock up on Enlightenment when I am in MA and both stores usually have a good selection. Other gems they usually have are Grimm and Logsdon at lower than NY prices, Nightshift (better selection at Julio's). For spirits, especially bourbon and rum, I'll give the nod to Julio's. In fact I just picked up a Loch & Key barrel selection bottle of Old Weller Antique a few weeks ago.

 

Julios BY FAR. Its one exit up North on 495 (which is only about a 45 second drive north. Then maybe 4 minutes down RT9 on the left. Yankee just didn't do it for me the few times I've been. It seemed more of a discount place with a ton of stuff. Julios will definitely have a better selection and is more high end I think. The mixed six pack at Julios is great too.

Def go there.

 

Julios.

They will have basically any beer that is distributed in Mass. Obviously super popular stuff like Be Hoppy, Night Shift brews, etc... will be hit or missed based on delivery dates. But if you want to stop once and grab a bunch of good beer then Julios is the place to stop.

 

Either Yankee Spirits has stepped it up recently, or I've hit Julio's on bad days, but I've found them to be pretty comparable. The one exception is that Julio's seems to have a better Night Shift selection.

 

I haven't been to Yankee since the summer, but I've always found it annoying that you can't mix a six there. (Well, you can, but there is no discount for the whole six as there is at other places).

I also find that the customer services at Yankee is atrocious and at Julios it is great. If you are looking for something specific at Yankee they make you feel like an idiot. At Julios everyone is extremely knowledgeable and seem happy to help. If you're looking for MA-local recommendations off the shelf, I would definitely go with Julios.

 

Buy her lunch/dinner at Row 34 for being so accommodating, it is right next door.

Fort Point Market also right next door would be a good stop to grab some other local beers.

 

Second this exact thought. Word of advice depending on time is get the name in at Row 34 first. Wait can be nuts from time to time.

 

I was going to suggest Jack's Abby. It's about twenty minutes from the Route 9 exit off 495 - and you can get a flight in the tasting room, which you can't get at Trillium. What with Boston traffic, it would be a coin toss for me.

 

Cape Cod beer is OK, though not the quality of a Trillium.